Blog Post

Maple Razsa, a 2011-2012  Individual Advanced Research Opportunities (IARO) fellow, writes about his experience researching migrant activism among former Yugoslavs and how that led him  to witness the Occupy Movement in Slovenia.

Thank you to all who have submitted photos for IREX’s first-ever “Make a Better World Photo Contest!” With over 1,300 photo entries and still two weeks to go until the deadline on May 15, 2012, I’d like to offer some insights on what type of photos I think the judges and IREX’s president will favor.

Right now, nearly 5,000 leaders in cities, towns, and villages across Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus are working to advance democracy, spur economic growth, reduce poverty, improve health, bolster community services, protect the environment and human rights, and promote gender equality. These alumni from 20 years of the Muskie Program are using the new technical skills and professional knowledge gained from their studies in the United States to develop their countries and communities.  Fifty percent of the alumni are working in the public and non-profit sectors. Together they form a network of change-makers forging strong ties with the United States and improving their societies from the inside.

As spring arrives and graduation season approaches, I’m finding it hard to believe that it has been 17 years since I graduated from college.  Thinking back, I realize how much my perspective has changed over the years, particularly my idea of what constitutes the perfect job. Finally out on my own after graduating, I was ready to prove myself and in order to do that I thought I needed a job that offered me three things:
 

I am pleased to share with you an excerpt from the written testimony I recently submitted to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs in support of the Department of State exchanges budget. Even in this current budget environment, it is critical to continue to invest in these programs which bring manifold benefits to US taxpayers. I strongly encourage you to find out more and contact your representatives in Congress to voice your support as well.

I was recently given the honor of being named Romania’s Digital Champion by Ms. Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission for the Digital Agenda. The nomination is a direct reflection of the professionalism, selfless contribution, determination and heartfelt devotion of the entire staff at IREX’s Biblionet Romania program, and to all of the public librarians who work with us on a daily basis to empower Romanians by providing free access to information at the nation’s public libraries. This accomplishment is not about one person, but rather the collective efforts we have brought about to improve the lives of Romanians through access to the internet and improved library services that reflect community needs.

On a recent visit to a village 120 kilometers east of Almaty, I witnessed first-hand how the BOTA Foundation is helping under-resourced children and youth of Kazakhstan.

Last year, Karen Bovard, a teacher from Connecticut, traveled to Indonesia as a fellow of the TEA-ILEP U.S. Teacher Exchange Program. Upon returning, she created an advanced high school course called “Women in a Global Context” to cultivate an understanding of worldwide gender issues in her students. In this blog, Karen discusses the evolution of the course and what she learned from preparing and delivering it.

Last month we discovered that our enthusiasm about exchange 2.0 was exceeded only by that of our international exchange students in Pakistan. A select group of forty students, all alumni of the Global UGRAD-Pakistan program, shattered every quantifiable participation record at TechChange for online learning. Read more from guest bloggers Gerard McCarthy and Christopher Neu.

Ricky Anywar, a former child soldier and a Community Solutions Program leader responds to the Kony 2012 video now circulating the web. He and his brother were just 2 of 25,000 Ugandan children abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army and forced into slavery. Few managed to escape with their lives, but Ricky did, and he turned his freedom into a lifeline for other child slaves. Read his response here.